Google Planning App Store For Bizs

Google is preparing an online store in which it will sell third-party business software to Google Apps customers, according to a report.

The Wall Street Journal says that Google’s store could arrive as early as March with the works of third-party developers available as enhancements to Google’s office productivity software suite.

It appears the store would allow Gmail and Google Docs users to purchase add-ons for niche features too specialized for the mainstream Google Apps product.

Offering incentives such as this type of store could also help attract more developers to the Google Apps platform, which could be a boost to Google’s hopes of taking a piece of Microsoft’s lucrative hold on the office productivity software market.

Large enterprise customers might be reluctant to switch to Google Apps unless they are able to find a solution to a specific need, such as an inventory management system set up to work with spreadsheets or e-mail.

Third-party developers could fill that hole without Google having to anticipate every such need.